Distances
by heartlandwriters
Summary: This story is set during S10E04 "New Horizons" and explores Georgie's thoughts in the aftermath of the explosive dinner scene. One shot.


**A/N: This one-shot is set in season 10, so just some background: Lou's away in NYC getting the Maggie's deal done, and this is set around the time that Ty was heading off to Mongolia to save the gObI bEaRs. This story is similar to _Deserving_ theme-wise and it's because I wrote this while I was developing that plot xD I just dug it out of my files and I figured I would share it, just because.**

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_"Now I have two idiot son-in-laws, abandoning their wives at the worst possible time!"_

Tim's words rung in Georgie's ears. She knew that she shouldn't give them much stock, but she couldn't help it. Her parents' marriage would always be taunted, always made example of, and she hated it. She hated feeling so defenceless.

She couldn't defend her father, couldn't say anything back, because Tim was right.

Peter _had_ abandoned them.

Her throat lumped up, and she buried her face in her pillow, and allowed herself to silently cry, wallowing in the misery that was her life.

Minutes later, her phone rang, startling her. She jolted, her breath clamping up.

Recovering quickly, she reached over to her side table and held up her phone. She saw it was Lou calling.

Georgie sat up in bed, and she quickly cleared her throat. She pressed the answer key and brought the phone up to her ear. "Mom, hey."

"Georgie, honey…I wasn't sure if you'd still be awake. I just called because—well, I couldn't get to sleep, and I just wanted to check in with you. We haven't talked in a couple of days."

Georgie breathed in, unsure of what to say next. "I miss you."

"Oh, honey…I miss you too. I'll be back before you know it, I promise."

Georgie's lip began to quiver, and her throat lumped up again. She breathed out, trying to calm herself.

"Honey, what's wrong? What is it…?" Lou's voice was desperate.

"It's nothing," Georgie lied, her voice heavy from the crying.

"No, just tell me." Lou said, immediately worried. Georgie's "nothing" was obviously something. Was she hurt? Had something happened at school? At home?

"Nothing, honestly. It's just something Tim said."

Lou sighed, relieved, but at the same time annoyed at her dad. "If you're crying, then—" Lou broke off, angered. "What did he say? I'm going to have a talk with him."

"No, don't! Seriously, just don't."

"Georgie, what did he say?"

Georgie sniffled quietly, finally relenting. "It's just…you know how he gets with Dad."

Peter? "Honey, what does your dad have anything to do with this?"

"Tim, he was…well, he was mad at Ty about the whole Mongolia thing. He's ticked off at both him and Amy for even considering the whole thing, and—and he brought up Dad."

Lou raised an eyebrow. "Why would he—where does Peter fit in with all of this?" Lou became defensive, because even though they were both separated, Peter was still the father of her children, the man she had fallen in love with all those years ago, and still continued to love.

"He said that—that just like Ty, Dad abandoned you at the worst possible time."

Lou sighed tightly. She quieted for a few seconds, unsure of what to say, how to make Georgie feel better about this.

Georgie sensed Lou's silence meant more than that she was just taking in what she had just said. "What are you thinking—?"

"Honey, your father didn't abandon us, okay? He really didn't. Him and I both decided, together, that it wasn't good for us to carry on the way we were."

"Yeah, because Dad was never home!"

Lou exhaled sharply. "Georgie..."

"There's a reason Tim said it, isn't there? There's some truth to it. I just—I can't even be mad, because he's right!"

"Georgie, listen to me. This isn't something your young mind should even be dwelling on. Your mom's okay, your dad's okay, we're all happy."

"But you'd be even happier if Dad hadn't—if he hadn't have..."

"I know, it's okay." Lou assured her daughter.

There was silence for a few moments.

"I mean, maybe we weren't good enough for him."

"Honey, don't say that..." Lou breathed out, her voice breaking. Her heart bled at the idea of Georgie thinking any of this was her fault, because it wasn't. And it could never be.

"Well, why not? If Dad loved us enough, he would have fought to make it work. He wouldn't have made another life for himself, he wouldn't have cheated—"

Lou exhaled, worn out. "Georgie…"

Georgie sighed, shutting her eyes momentarily, regretful. "I'm sorry—I'm so sorry," she said, stuttering.

"No, don't. It's okay…" Lou trailed off, unsure of what to say. "Listen to me, don't be upset, okay? What's done is done, and right now, there isn't really much we can do, is there?"

Georgie clenched her jaw. "No, there isn't." She admitted.

"And your grandfather, he's just worried about Amy. He's a father, it's what they do. And besides, you know your grandfather." Lou laughed a little. "You need to learn to just...take what he says with a grain of salt. If he said something that upset you, you have to figure out how to forget about it, because he didn't mean to hurt you."

"Mom, it's not that. I know that Tim is just worried. It's just—it's maddening that I can't defend Dad to him, to anyone. They'll say whatever they want, and I can't tell them they're wrong."

"Honey, it's not your job to defend Peter's choices. He's an adult, he can fend for himself. The only thing you have to do is understand that—that no matter what you could have done, what you could have said, it wouldn't have changed what happened. It was out of your control. And it was definitely not your fault. You can't blame yourself for what happened with your dad and I."

"Okay, no, I know that."

"Look, no matter what happened between your dad and I, it has nothing to do with you and your sister. We're always going to love you."

Georgie sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I get it."

"Look, I don't want you to think about any of this anymore. Promise me you'll go to bed okay."

"Mom, I'll be fine. I'm sorry I bothered you with this at all."

"I just need to know that you'll be fine, that you won't go to sleep crying, or something."

Georgie smiled. "I won't."

"Okay, good."

"Well, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You just told me you were having trouble falling asleep. It's late in New York, almost two in the morning."

"Oh, yeah, it was just a weird day at the office today, and tomorrow's actually a late start, so..." Lou trailed off, leaving out details.

"Okay, okay, as long as you're sure."

"Yeah, I am. Look, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? And I'll be back home this weekend, so there's only a few more sleeps until I see you again."

"Okay, yeah. I can't wait."

Lou had a smile in her voice. "Me too, honey. I can't wait."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Night."

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Once Lou was off the call, she remained sitting up in bed. Reaching over to her bedside table, she picked up the photo of her and her daughters. Lou closed her eyes, thinking of what it would be like had Peter been in the photo with them. Everything would just be so much better, they would be so much happier.

Lou had never needed Peter, even when she did. Even when she wanted him by her side and was in need of his support, she never got it. So she had learned how to be without him. She had learned to fend for herself, to take care of herself.

She was okay without him.

But maybe their daughters weren't.

Had Lou made a mistake in turning down Peter's offer? Should she have said yes to him? Georgie and Katie would've been so happy, they would have felt safe and loved, and not so abandoned. Lou knew that feeling all too well.

Maybe Lou and Peter were making the biggest mistake of their lives. And maybe there was still time to fix it, to find each other again.

Lou reached for her phone again, dialling Peter's number. She then stopped, and decided to text him instead.

His response came in almost right away.

Lou picked up her phone and stared at the text. Moments later, her phone began to ring. It seemed Peter had changed his mind and decided to call her instead.

Lou pressed the answer key and brought the phone to her ear. "Peter, hey."

"Hey, everything okay? Your text was kind of cryptic."

Lou laughed a little. "Yeah, everything's fine. When are you coming home?"

It was Peter's turn to laugh. "Home? Well, uh…I was planning on visiting next weekend. Why?"

"Okay, good. I just wanted to get together and talk."

"Yeah, of course. We can do that. What about?"

"About us."

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**A/N: So, any thoughts? ;)**


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